Residents survey the aftermath of Hurricane Maria on the island Dominica in September 2017. Source: Jean-Francois Manuel via Shutterstock.
Major disasters can be catalysts for change, prompting shifts in our worldviews and inspiring innovations in research, policy, and practice. That’s why the Natural Hazards Center is excited to announce our Disasters as Turning Points webinar series, which will explore events that have altered the trajectory of the hazards and disaster field.
These free, one-hour panel sessions will revisit major disasters five, 10, 15, or 20 years later. Through conversations with the people who studied or responded to these major events, the series seeks to illuminate progress made, while calling attention to missed opportunities for change.
Join us for our upcoming session on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, with a panel to mark the 15th anniversary of the Christchurch Earthquake Sequence. Participants will hear from some of New Zealand’s leading disaster research and resilience experts, including Sarah Beaven, Julia Becker, Ken Elwood, and Tom Wilson. They’ll share stories of their personal experiences in the days and weeks after the earthquake and reflect on how response to this catastrophe, and the prolonged recovery that followed, profoundly influenced disaster research, practice, and policy.
Please see below for more details:
Christchurch Earthquake Sequence at 15
Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2026 (U.S. Time Zones) / Wednesday, February 25, 2026 (New Zealand Time Zones)
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. MDT / 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. NZT
Access: Register online
Visit the Christchurch Earthquake Sequence page for more information. The recording will be posted after the webinar on this page.
This webinar series was originally inspired by the plenary session Looking Back—Disasters as Turning Points at the 50th Natural Hazards Workshop. Our inaugural webinar in the series, Hurricane Katrina at 20: Looking Back and Moving Forward, marked the storm’s 20th anniversary with authors from The Katrina Bookshelf.
We hope you’ll save the dates and join us for other upcoming Disasters as Turning Points webinars later this year, to remember impactful disasters like Tōhoku-oki Earthquake and Tsunami, the Joplin Tornado, and 9/11. Please learn more on the series page and remember to subscribe for updates for future events.